"At first when we spoke to teachers they all said they didn't beat children, but when we spoke to the children they told us that they were regularly being caned. When we asked them, teachers would say they had no choice but to use the cane as the children were too hard to manage."

Yup, they are out to ensure the death of corporal punishment and strict discipline and to bring about 'child-centered learning'.

The programme aims to show teachers that there are more effective ways of controlling classes than the cane. By making children's rights part of the schooling process, improving school inspections, getting police to act in serious incidents of violence and giving children a voice at schools, the charity hopes to demonstrate that there's a better way of doing things.

Maybe some of those Ugandan teachers should come over to the UK - we've had this system for years, and as a result, our schools are paradises of polite, well-mannered schoolchildren eager to learn and succeed.

I am increasingly of the view that government shouldn't give direct grants to charities, but instead should allocate the budget to provide matched funding to all the donations made by individuals and Trusts.

We are told that in the year ended 31 December 2009 (the latest accounts), of total income of £1.93 million, £1.74 million was "voluntary". On closer examination, of that "voluntary" £1.74 million some £1.45 million was in "grants" (which, in the context of charity accounts, almost invariably means that someone has been taxed to cough up and some politician or state functionary is preening himself over his generosity with other people's money).

Accordingly, it appears that no less than 75% of ChildHope's income has been compulsorily taken from a taxpayer (not necessarily a UK taxpayer but the principle, or lack of principle, is the same). I think we can nominate ChildHope to the long list of fake charities.

Umbongo is almost certainly right. The accounts only provide clues, rather than revealing a real picture of what this charity does and what happens to the money passing through it. Much the same can be said of many EU funded projects. One needs to know what is really delivered that otherwise would not be. I see none of that.I don't like child beating and have seen disgusting examples in Africa. Hard to argue some of our schools don't need more discipline though and that the cane and birch should be voted back as a temporary measure - maybe public floggings too if we can't afford more civilised measures. otherwise we just transfer the violence from the state to what the scum do to their victims, a very perverse form of human rights.

I think it was the Fabian Socialist Lord Bertrand Russell who said that education should be indoctrination, to the point where, if it's done correctly, students will become mentally incapable of speaking out in protest of corrupt authority. Maybe this is one more step in the incremental implementation of that - or maybe not. Who knows? Whatever the case, schoolhouse beatings are bad news - as are beatings in general, in my opinion. But I find it difficult to trust these supposedly altruistic charities - the wolf always arrives at the door in sheep's clothing.